Question

Emily is given an object by her grandmother. She is told it is worth a lot of money. Emily thinks it is quite ugly on the outside because she does not like the color brown. She thinks it is very beautiful on the inside because it is a solid purple color with pretty crystals. Emily can't wait to show her friends!
Does Emily have a rock or a mineral? Use two properties from the story to explain your answer.

Answer 1

Answer:

Rock

Explanation:

Minerals are inorganic substances that occur naturally in nature and have a  

a definite chemical composition and a crystalline structure while rocks may consists of one or many minerals together along with some organic remains due to which it may not look shiny and crystalline from outside.  

Here, the two characteristics that enable the reader to identify the object given by grandmother to Emily as rock  are –  

a) Looks ugly on the outside (shows the presence of organic matter)

b) solid purple color with pretty crystals (crystalline structure inside)